Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Cortona

For one person, living is cheaper in Cape Town: $1,527 a month against $1,781 in Cortona, rent and utilities included – about $3,000 less a year. The total is higher in Cortona despite lower rent and utilities.

74

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
85

Cost of Living Index in Cortona
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Cortona Living Index

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Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,527

/mo nomad

Cortona

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,781

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Cape Town and in Cortona

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Cape Town and in Cortona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,527 per month in Cape Town vs $1,781 in Cortona, rent included.

Cape Town $1,527
Cortona $1,781

A couple spends around $2,417 per month in Cape Town vs $2,694 in Cortona, rent included.

Cape Town $2,417
Cortona $2,694

A family of three spends $3,306 per month in Cape Town vs $3,608 in Cortona, rent included.

Cape Town $3,306
Cortona $3,608

Cape Town is about 14% cheaper than Cortona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both Cape Town and Cortona sit above the global median – Cape Town by 13%, Cortona by 32%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$12.01 R 198

$20.36 €18.13

-41.01%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$42.92 R 707

$79.4 €70.7

-45.94%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.15 R 101

$11.25 €10.02

-45.33%

Cappuccino

$2.37 R 39.04

$2.06 €1.84

15.05%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.27 R 20.96

$3.30 €2.94

-61.52%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.94 R 15.46

$1.41 €1.25

-33.33%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.96 R 48.77

$6.70 €5.96

-55.82%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.69 R 60.8

$4.44 €3.95

-16.89%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.32 R 21.73

$1.73 €1.54

-23.70%

White Bread (500g)

$1.21 R 19.87

$2.20 €1.96

-45.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.20 R 36.26

$3.16 €2.81

-30.38%

Eggs

$3.10 R 51.1

$5.34 €4.76

-41.95%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.73 R 144

$27.01 €24.05

-67.68%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.89 R 114

$15.71 €13.99

-56.14%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.26 R 153

$25.18 €22.42

-63.22%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.08

$2.95 €2.63

-37.97%

Banana (1kg)

$1.95 R 32.12

$2.17 €1.93

-10.14%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.66 R 27.32

$3.17 €2.82

-47.63%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.14 R 35.19

$3.27 €2.91

-34.56%

Potato (1kg)

$1.58 R 26.01

$3.08 €2.74

-48.70%

Onion (1kg)

$1.47 R 24.29

$2.14 €1.91

-31.31%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.35 R 22.18

$1.87 €1.67

-27.81%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.14 R 18.85

$0.84 €0.75

35.71%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.58 R 59.0

$7.69 €6.85

-53.45%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.05 R 99.7

$8.32 €7.41

-27.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.95

$2.51 €2.23

-44.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.18 R 35.90

$4.00 €3.56

-45.50%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.40 R 23.02

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$60.8 R 1,001

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.93 R 15.26

$5.54 €4.93

-83.21%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.90 R 14.83

$2.18 €1.94

-58.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.96 R 81.7

$11.66 €10.39

-57.46%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.54 R 25.37

$2.02 €1.80

-23.76%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$35.4K R 582.8K

$35.2K €31.4K

0.39%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$33.4K R 549.9K

$36.7K €32.6K

-8.96%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$117 R 1,929

$345 €307

-66.10%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$25.71 R 424

$11.96 €10.65

114.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$39.41 R 649

$41.97 €37.37

-6.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$51.6 R 850

$27.78 €24.74

85.78%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.35 R 187

$11.41 €10.16

-0.53%

Cinema Ticket

$8.89 R 146

$10.46 €9.32

-15.01%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$308 R 5,069

$643 €573

-52.17%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$8,141 R 134.2K

$8,771 €7,810

-7.18%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.4 R 946

$99.2 €88.4

-42.18%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$31.75 R 523

$74.4 €66.3

-57.35%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$116 R 1,911

$88.9 €79.2

30.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$101 R 1,660

$191 €170

-47.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,047 R 17.2K

$840 €748

24.62%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$669 R 11.0K

$396 €353

68.89%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,861 R 30.7K

$1,472 €1,311

26.40%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,407 R 23.2K

$607 €541

131.77%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,410 R 39.7K

$2,289 €2,039

5.27%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,570 R 25.9K

$2,800 €2,493

-43.95%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,630 R 26.9K

$3,075 €2,738

-47.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.89

3.7

194.32%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Cape Town: November 2, 2026

Last update for Cortona: November 1, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$669 43.8%

Cortona

$396 22.3% 40.8% $273

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$223 14.6%

Cortona

$433 24.3% 94.2% $210

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$182 11.9%

Cortona

$399 22.4% 119% $217

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11.4%

Cortona

$283 15.9% 62.4% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$138 9%

Cortona

$204 11.5% 48.5% $67

Getting Around

Cape Town

$72 4.7%

Cortona

$16 * 0.9% 77.1% $55

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$69 4.5%

Cortona

$49 2.7% 29.8% $21

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,047 in Cape Town versus $840 in Cortona. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 89% higher in Cortona. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $43 in Cape Town versus $79 in Cortona. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $223 vs $434 – making Cape Town the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇮🇹 Cortona

🕒 Local time

09:42 9:42 AM

08:42 8:42 AM

1 h behind Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

22,450

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.07 USD

100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 16.48 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.07 USD). 1 EUR = 18.51 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.4 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of November 6, 2026: 1 USD = 0.89 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Cortona 8,610 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Cortona

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Cape Town vs Cortona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Cortona costs about 17% more than Cape Town, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,291 per month in Cape Town and $2,672 in Cortona. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Cortona, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $840 there versus $1,047 in Cape Town.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,781 in Cortona. That makes Cape Town about 14% cheaper.

Kindergarten costs $308 per month in Cape Town and $643 in Cortona. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

$1,000 is a stretch for both – monthly costs hit $1,527 in Cape Town and $1,781 in Cortona. You’ll need shared housing and careful budgeting no matter which city you pick.

It depends on your priorities. Cape Town has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,527 in Cape Town to $1,781 in Cortona. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

If budget matters most, go with Cape Town. If higher salaries or specific career opportunities are the priority, Cortona makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.